Tom Casteel Obituary, Death Cause – The Beast’s capacity to move freely across the land will, once again, be unaffected by any restrictions. There is something that I have to say today, and I say it with a heavy heart because it is important. I apologize in advance. It was brought to my attention very recently that the Government Instructor as well as the Wrestling Coach at the high school I attended had passed away. It is my hope that I will be on the road within the next twenty-four hours, travelling back to Michigan to attend his funeral……and to be a pallbearer alongside a couple of my brothers and other Montrose Wrestling Teammates.
Sadly, he passed away last week. I am currently giving all of my possessions a new round of packing, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to hit the road within the next twenty-four hours. I’m going to sorely miss having him around. *** It wouldn’t be accurate to say that Coach Tom Casteel was only a Government Instructor or a Wrestling Coach. To put it succinctly…… A significant number of younger wrestlers looked up to him as a model to follow in their careers. He was between 5’2 and 5’4 inches tall and weighed between 300 and 350 pounds, so he did not really fit the stereotype of a guy who would be a good motivator…but he was.
He was an inspiration to anyone who worked with him. He was able to motivate and exhort those around him to accomplish what they set out to do. As a direct result of his encouragement, you started to have faith in yourself, and you didn’t want to let him down in any way that was even remotely imaginable. He had a major influence in my life, and I am grateful for the valuable life skills that I was able to pick up from him and that I continue to apply to this day. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to pick up some valuable life lessons from him. It has been great having him here with us, and we are going to miss that.